Airfare…buy now or wait?

I have a trip booked in November. Everyday it seems like the cost of flying is going up! Should I bite the bullet and book now or just wait? :grimacing::crazy_face:

I think 45 days prior to your trip is when it’s the cheapest, but Google to confirm. If you buy too early you will probably pay more.

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Not really true anymore.

@trish1201_721026 I would just pull the trigger if there’s a schedule you like at a price you can tolerate.

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Right, it’s insane?!?!?! I know we live in the same area, I ended up buying a one way ticket from MCO to Providence instead of flying into Logan.
The tickets from Logan/Providence to MCO are the killer!

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MHT is literally 2 miles from my house.

I have flown out of PVD a few times before. Yes, that’s 2 HOURS from my house.

But even there the schedules and fares are lousy nowadays.

Good luck

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It use to be, according to experts, two months out was the best time. I don’t think that’s true anymore. I fly Southwest mostly, so the 60 day mark is when I start hawk eying whether the price goes down - because Southwest allows you to modify to a cheaper price. If you’re flying an airline that’s not flexible, my inclination would be to wait a little while and just keep checking. Six months seems a little early, but if you find a deal you should definitely go for it. I flew down from Indiana for $138 once. This was using the modify to the lower price method. Nowadays, anything over $138 seems ridiculous. :laughing:

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In my market, I have also found that about 60 to 45 days before my flights will drop. For my October 2021 flights, I bought them at about $150 each way. I purchase each leg separately. Purchased the SDF to MCO flight in April and the MCO to SDF flight in early June. Both flights dropped to $99 each way in August. I was willing to play chicken with Southwest.

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I had my cheap flights booked 6 months out cancel at 60 days out, and had to rebook at a much higher price (adding a layover :rage:). Flights are kind of unstable right now, for a variety of reasons, so it’s a gamble either way.

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I’d book now. In my area prices keep going up when closer to our dates. We usually have to buy 6-8 months in advance to get cheapest price.

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My nearest international airport is the other Manchester airport. But I now routinely look at London as well, as the prices from there have been a lot less recently. Also, MAN has had horrendous staffing issues and reports of check-in lines that stretch out of the terminal and into the car park.

That’s definitely true here, too. I often check the Virgin app looking for upgrade offers. As my March flights approached they tried to entice me to upgrade to Upper Class (which was not even half full) with offers of $7,000. One way.

This is wise. If you see a price you can afford I’d take it. I wouldn’t gamble on it falling nearer the time. Maybe it will fall. Maybe it will double.

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Pulled the trigger at 3 months. I can’t guess with this darn economy

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There is a lot up in the air (pardon the pun) at the moment. With fuel prices being so high, airfare is probably inflated. If there is a recession later this year (which many economists think is coming), that will probably balance out the cost of fuel and cause prices to drop. On the other hand, if WW III breaks out, fuel prices could jump even higher. But then we’d have bigger fish to fry.

Personally I would wait a little bit if you have more than 6 months to see what happens next. If a recession is coming, we’ll know soon. But be prepared for prices to spike higher. If that scares you, buy whenever you see a somewhat reasonable fare.

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Around me the prices usually are lowest 3-4 months before vacation when wanting to pick seats and DH stubborn about wanting nonstop. Then they start to rise again. Last year Delta canceled our nonstop flight which was fully booked if you trust the site saying sold out. And put us on one heading home 4 hours sooner. They originally had 3 down/3 back daily. Now down to just the two eaxh way. Alternate airport flight is gone. Depending on what airline, the fare code should give you an idea where in pricing it is.

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can you afford the cost of a refundable ticket and then just cancel if prices drop?

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I’m trying to decide what to do for a trip from Boston in late Aug. The Delta site is showing all Basic Economy seats as sold out, but I’m wondering if that’s just a marketing thing and if availability in that category will show up in the next few weeks. Anyone have any insight on that?

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On one particular flight? I can 100% see that being accurate. August is not that far away, especially in this world of reduced flight schedules. They have nothing to gain by holding seats back for sale even if they don’t sell them at a premium yet. They can’t risk open seats. That’d be a hell of a gamble.

On all flights in August? That’s a horse of a different color
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Buy now! I used to be a big fan of waiting until about 60 days out and then look for sales. Sales are gone! The base price of plane tickets has more than doubled since February. I don’t see the days of $150 roundtrip tickets coming back any time soon!

I bought tickets for a Sept. trip on 3/30/22 for $301.96 (all fees & taxes). Today that same trip is $387.96!

My airfare for trips in February and April were only $156 & $186!

If I keep going to Universal instead of Disney, I may have to change my Disney Visa into a Flight Points card! :crazy_face:

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I’m 7 months out and am holding off til 5 months out when Spirit starts accepting reservations. Hopefully that will exert some downward pressure on prices. Right now it’s $500/pp which is a bit steep.

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Yup - Basic airfare is “sold out” on all non-stop flights in both directions, with the exception of one return flight that lands around midnight.

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That there is an exception tells me it’s not a false report but that those seats are truly sold out.

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